Next Roadside Demo - Thurs 20th April Bellingen 3pm
Next Market - Coffs Harbour, Sun 23rd April
Home Among the Gumtrees
Violence at Manus Island
Next Roadside Demonstration: Bellingen, Thursday 20th April from 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm
A reminder to everyone that our next roadside demonstration will take place this Thursday in Bellingen. You will find us in our usual location on Waterfall Way, adjacent to the library. It would be great to have good turnout in response to the serious danger that refugees are currently enduring on Manus Island (see below). Please consider joining us for a while to show that you care about Australia’s refugees and asylum seekers. We have lots of banners and placards to share.
Next Market Stall : Coffs Harbour, Sunday 23rd April: New location.
Please note that the Harbourside market has been temporarily transferred to the Park Beach Reserve. The reserve is located adjacent to the Park Beach car park, on the banks of Coffs Creek. We are looking for helpers between 9.00 am and 1.30 pm, so if you could lend a hand for an hour or two, please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com. As usual, we’ll be selling our merchandise, handing out information sheets, collecting signatures on the RAR petition and interacting with market goers. Let’s hope that the sun shines!
Home Among the Gumtrees.
You will know that a dedicated group of our RAR supporters recently planned a visit for an Iranian refugee family to spend some time in the area. Sadly, due to the illness of one of the family members, the visit had to be called off at the very last minute, which was a big disappointment for everyone involved. The good news is that members of our group remain in contact with the family and we are hopeful that the visit can be rescheduled for later in the year.
Violence erupts on Manus Island
The latest outbreak of violence on Manus Island underlines yet again the need to close the centre without delay. The government’s response, as always, was to publish an obviously inaccurate statement, suggesting that PNG military personnel “discharged a weapon into the air”. Eye witness accounts, together with photographic evidence, paint a very different picture. Church groups and human rights organisations have responded strongly to this latest incident, and have called for the detention centre to be evacuated immediately. Peter Catt, a spokesperson for the Australian Churches Refugee Task Force, says: “The darkness of betrayal and abandonment that we are familiar with in the Jesus story is being felt keenly by those on Manus this weekend. By bringing people to Australia, the US refugee deal may continue. More importantly, the healing of those who have been damaged by our nation’s policy can begin.”
Could you please contact Peter Dutton, the minister responsible, and Shayne Neumann, the Labor opposition spokesperson to add your voice to the protest about the continued detention of refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island.
You can call minister Dutton’s office on: 07 3205 9977, or email him at: minister@border.gov.au.
You can call Shayne Neumann’s office on: 07 3201 5300 or email him at: Shayne.Neumann.MP@aph.gov.au. Tell him that it’s time for Labor to abandon it’s support for the indefinite detention of refugees, and to support the transfer of all refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island to Australia.
National Conference of Refugee Action and Advocacy Groups: Canberra, 20th-21st May 2017
The Australian Refugee Action Network is organising the inaugural national conference for refugee advocacy groups, to take place in Canberra over the weekend of 20th- 21st May. The conference will be held at the ANU Copeland Theatre, Kingsley Street, Canberra. It is an important event, with a full program of speakers and discussion groups, including a session for RAR groups. Full details can be found at: ARAN Conference, the national conference for Advocates and Activists. It would be good to have some representation from our group. If you might be interested in attending, please let Mike know by emailing him at: mandm.griffin2@bigpond.com.
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